Systems and methods for providing a tailored video game based on a player defined time period

ABSTRACT

The present specification describes systems and methods for customizing a video game to a player defined time period. Content units of a video game are selected based on at least one of multiple pre-defined criteria. Content units are then edited to fit into the player defined time period. Game gear required for playing the selected content units is determined. The edited content units and the selected game gear are provided to the player to play within the player defined time period.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/686,443, entitled “Systems and Methods for theReal-Time Customization of Video Game Content Based on Player Data” andfiled on Nov. 18, 2019, which relies on U.S. Patent ProvisionalApplication No. 62/769,180, of the same title and filed on Nov. 19,2018, for priority, both of which are herein incorporated by referencein their entirety.

FIELD

The present specification is related generally to the field of gaming,animation and computer graphics. More specifically, the presentspecification discloses systems and methods for providing a customizedgaming experience to players by customizing, or curating, in real-timevideo game content based on user data.

BACKGROUND

The proliferation of broadband services allows for a greater number ofpeople to enjoy computer or video games. There are numerous gamesavailable to cater to a wide variety of player interests. While new gameconsumers may have the funds available to play a game, many may havetime constraints that will de-incentivize, dissuade, or otherwisediscourage a person from playing a game requiring substantial amount oftime. Subscription models, in which a user pays a small amount per timeperiod rather than a full purchase price upfront, allow for new gameconsumers to experience games that they do not have time to play andhave been increasingly popular ways to bring back older games that aplayer may want to revisit or try.

Even with such a subscription model, however, players are hesitant toinvest time into a new game out of concern that, to truly have a fullgame experience, they will have to devote more time than they may haveavailable, given that many games require a substantial amount of timefor completion. Players often give up playing games before completioneither due to time constraints or because they lose interest in thecourse of an extended gameplay session. Accordingly, some players mayplay the game only intermittently or only visit the game website or usethe game app in rare instances. Particularly in the smart mobile devicemarket sector, players are very time sensitive and tend to skip orswitch to another game, application, channel or device webpage, wheneverthey feel disengaged with a game. Players may also want to play multiplegames in the limited time they have in order to enjoy the experience ofmultiple gameplay sessions.

Thus, there is a need for methods and systems that allow for the dynamiccurating or customization of a video game experience to the timeavailable to a user, or to other player-specific usability constraints.There is a need for video games to be designed such that they maximizeplayer engagement and retention within the limited time available withthe players and also improve the experience of playing and performing invideo games for players. Finally, there is a need for systems andmethods that customize video game content and the gaming experiencebased on a player's interests.

SUMMARY

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described andillustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods, which aremeant to be exemplary and illustrative, and not limiting in scope. Thepresent application discloses numerous embodiments.

The present specification discloses a method for generating, inreal-time, a video game tailored to a player-defined time period, thevideo game having a standard gameplay time greater than theplayer-defined time period, the method comprising: receiving theplayer-defined time period; selecting one or more content units of thevideo game based on the player-defined time period, wherein the one ormore content units are defined by a collective time period; editing theselected one or more content units such that the collective time periodis equal to or less than the player-defined time period; selecting oneor more game gear items required for playing the selected one or morecontent units based on at least one of a plurality of pre-definedcriteria; and generating a tailored gameplay session comprising theedited one or more content units and selected one or more gear items forthe player to play.

Optionally, the method further comprises: determining if the playerwants to alter the player-defined time period to a new time period; ifthe player wants to alter the player defined time period to a new timeperiod, selecting the one or more content units based on at least one ofa plurality of pre-defined criteria; editing the one or more contentunits to have a collective time period that is equal to or less than thenew time period; selecting one or more game gear required for playingthe one or more content units based on at least one of a plurality ofpre-defined criteria; and generating a new tailored gameplay sessioncomprising the edited one or more content units and one or more gamegear for the player for play. The new time period may be longer or thanthe player defined time period.

Optionally, the method further comprises: dynamically determining if theplayer is completing the one or more content units within a pre-definedtime allocated for each of the one or more content units; and providingone or more pre-defined options for completing the one or more contentunits within the player-defined time period if the player is notcompleting the one or more content units within the pre-defined timeallocated for each of the one or more content units.

Optionally, the method further comprises: selecting the one or morecontent units based on at least one of a plurality of pre-definedcriteria, wherein the plurality of pre-defined criteria comprises atleast one of selecting one or more content units rated as providing abest experience while maintaining a narrative of the game; selecting oneor more content units rated as being most fun regardless of maintainingcohesion in the narrative of the game; and selecting one or more contentunits rated as providing a most challenging experience.

Optionally, selecting one or more content units further comprises:determining an amount of time required for completing each selected ofthe one or more content units; and applying the player-defined timeperiod as a filter to identify all of the one or more content unitshaving the collective time period that is less than or equal to theplayer-defined time period. Optionally, the method further comprisesediting the one or more content units to provide a linear gameplayexperience to the player.

Optionally, the method of further comprises adding one or more messagesbefore each of the selected one or more content units for explaining anarrative corresponding to the gameplay session.

Optionally, presenting the selected game gear to the player comprisesenabling the player to select an extent of game gear ranging from‘minimum gear’ to ‘maximum gear’.

The present specification also discloses a system for generating, inreal-time, a video game tailored to a player-defined time period, thevideo game having a standard gameplay time greater than theplayer-defined time period, the system comprising one or more gameservers for hosting the game and a plurality of client processors forexecuting an instance of the game communicated by the one or more gameservers via a network coupling the client processors to the gameservers, said game servers comprising one or more processors configuredto execute a plurality of executable programmatic instructions togenerate, in real-time, the video game tailored to a player-defined timeperiod, the programmatic instructions forming: a user interface modulewhich when executed receives the player-defined time period; a selectionmodule which when executed selects one or more content units of thevideo game based on the player-defined time period, and one or more gamegear items required for playing the selected one or more content unitsbased on at least one of a plurality of pre-defined criteria, whereinthe one or more content units are defined by a collective time period;and an editing module which when executed edits the selected one or morecontent units such that the collective time period is equal to or lessthan the player-defined time period for generating a tailored gameplaysession comprising the edited one or more content units and selected oneor more gear items for the player to play.

Optionally, the one or more game servers are coupled with at least onedatabase for storing a plurality of video games, each video gamecomprising discrete content units, each content unit being associatedwith a metadata tag.

Optionally, each metadata tag comprises predefined characteristics of anassociated video game content unit. Optionally, the predefinedcharacteristics comprise one or more of: a time to complete playing aportion of the content unit of the video game, a required relationshipwith one or more other content units, and one or more descriptorsindicative of the subject matter of the content unit. Optionally, theone or more descriptors indicative of the subject matter of the contentunit comprise one or more of: most fun content, most challengingexperience, scariest content, easiest gameplay experience, and likedmost by other similar players.

Optionally, the system of claim 12 wherein the metadata tags are used bythe selection module for selecting one or more content units of thevideo game based on the player-defined time period.

Optionally, the selection module, when executed, further selects asecond set of content units based on at least one of a plurality ofpre-defined criteria, if the player wants to alter the player definedtime period to a new time period, and a second set of game gear requiredfor playing the second set of content units based on at least one of aplurality of pre-defined criteria and, the editing module, whenexecuted, further edits the second set of content units to have acollective time period that is equal to or less than the new timeperiod, and generates a new tailored gameplay session comprising theedited second set of content units and the second set of game gear forthe player for play.

Optionally, the selection module, when executed, further dynamicallydetermines if the player is completing the one or more content unitswithin a pre-defined time allocated for each of the one or more contentunits and provides one or more pre-defined options for completing theone or more content units within the player-defined time period if theplayer is not completing the one or more content units within thepre-defined time allocated for each of the one or more content units.

Optionally, the one or more game servers are implemented by a cloud ofcomputing platforms operating together as game servers.

The present specification also discloses a computer readablenon-transitory medium comprising a plurality of executable programmaticinstructions wherein, when said plurality of executable programmaticinstructions are executed by a processor in a computing device, aprocess for generating, in real-time, a video game tailored to aplayer-defined time period is performed, the video game having astandard gameplay time greater than the player-defined time period, saidplurality of executable programmatic instructions comprising:programmatic instructions, stored in said computer readablenon-transitory medium, for generating, in real-time, the video gametailored to a player-defined time period by: receiving theplayer-defined time period; selecting one or more content units of thevideo game based on the player-defined time period, wherein the one ormore content units are defined by a collective time period; editing theselected one or more content units such that the collective time periodis equal to or less than the player-defined time period; selecting oneor more game gear items required for playing the selected one or morecontent units based on at least one of a plurality of pre-definedcriteria; and generating a tailored gameplay session comprising theedited one or more content units and selected one or more gear items forthe player to play.

The aforementioned and other embodiments of the present specificationshall be described in greater depth in the drawings and detaileddescription provided below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will befurther appreciated, as they become better understood by reference tothe detailed description when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing of a client-server architecture of agaming system, in accordance with embodiments of the presentspecification;

FIG. 1B is a wireframe diagram of an exemplary graphical user interface(GUI) for obtaining and generating user game preferences, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing video gamecontent to fit within a player-defined time period, in accordance withan embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 3A illustrates a screenshot of a message screen displayed to a userprior to commencement of an edited game scene by the player, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present specification;

FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a method for aggregating selectedcontent for presentation to a user, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present specification; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a screenshot of a screen presented to a userprompting the user to select desired gear, in accordance with anembodiment of the present specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments, the present specification describes systems andmethods for providing video game content that, in real-time, may beadjusted to fit within a player-defined time period, in accordance withan embodiment of the present specification. In embodiments, the presentspecification provides a method allowing a player to select both a videogame and period of time for playing the game. The present specificationprovides systems and methods for selecting portions of theplayer-specified game and editing or adjusting the selected portions tofit within the player-specified time period, thereby allowing the playerto enjoy the gameplay experience despite time constraints. In variousembodiments, the present specification provides methods of selecting theportions of a video game based on multiple criteria (such as popularityratings) for providing the player maximum enjoyment.

While aspects of the present specification may be described herein withreference to particular types of video game genres, the system andmethod described in detail herein may be used in any genre of single ormultiplayer video games.

The present specification is directed towards multiple embodiments. Thefollowing disclosure is provided in order to enable a person havingordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. Language used inthis specification should not be interpreted as a general disavowal ofany one specific embodiment or used to limit the claims beyond themeaning of the terms used therein. The general principles defined hereinmay be applied to other embodiments and applications without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Also, the terminology andphraseology used is for the purpose of describing exemplary embodimentsand should not be considered limiting. Thus, the present invention is tobe accorded the widest scope encompassing numerous alternatives,modifications and equivalents consistent with the principles andfeatures disclosed. For purpose of clarity, details relating totechnical material that is known in the technical fields related to theinvention have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarilyobscure the present invention.

In the description and claims of the application, each of the words“comprise” “include” and “have”, and forms thereof, are not necessarilylimited to members in a list with which the words may be associated. Itshould be noted herein that any feature or component described inassociation with a specific embodiment may be used and implemented withany other embodiment unless clearly indicated otherwise.

As used herein, the indefinite articles “a” and “an” mean “at least one”or “one or more” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term“plurality of programmatically separate video games” means more than onevideo game where each of the video games comprises one or more separateexecutable files and can be fully played and engaged with independent ofany other video game.

The terms “user” and “player” are used interchangeably throughout thisspecification.

The term “real-time” refers to the substantially immediate response of asystem in response to a user input. For example, in this case, the term“real-time” refers to the substantially immediate action, by the system,to curate or customize content to a user upon receiving an input fromthe user indicative of a time period available to play the video game.Such a substantially immediate action may mean less than 20 minutes,preferably less than 10 minutes, and even more preferably less than 5minutes between receiving a user's input regarding a preferred game andtime period available to play and the generation and provision of thecustomized gameplay session.

FIG. 1 illustrates a gaming system 100, in accordance with an embodimentof the present specification. The system 100 comprises client-serverarchitecture, where one or more game servers 105, 106 are incommunication with one or more remotely located client devices 110 overa network 115. Users may access the system 100 via the client devices110 that may include, but not be limited to, personal or desktopcomputers, laptops, Netbooks, handheld devices such as smartphones,tablets, and PDAs, gaming consoles and/or any other computing platformknown to persons of ordinary skill in the art. Although three clientdevices 110 are illustrated in FIG. 1 , any number of client devices 110can be in communication with the one or more game servers 105, 106 overthe network 115. The one or more game servers 105, 106 are responsiblefor hosting, running, or executing a video game, and the remotelylocated client devices 110 are configured to execute an instance of thevideo game.

The video game may be from any video game genre. Video game genresinclude 1) action games, such as platform, shooter, fighting, stealth,survival, and rhythm games, 2) action-adventure games, such as survivalhorror or metroidvania games, 3) adventure games, such as text, graphic,visual, interactive or real-time 3D adventures, 4) role-playing games,such as action RPG, MMORPG, Roguelikes, tactical RPG, sandbox RPG,first-person party-based RPG, cultural differences, choices, or fantasygames, 5) simulation games, construction and management simulation, lifesimulation, or vehicle simulation games, 6) strategy games, such as 4×,artillery, real-time strategy, real-time tactics, multiplayer onlinebattle arena, tower defense, turn based strategy, turn based tactics,wargame, or grand strategy games, 7) sports games, such as racing,competitive, basketball, football, baseball, soccer, hockey, orsports-based fighting, or 8) the following other genres: MMO, casual,party, programming, logic, trivia, board, card, advergame, art, oreducational.

The one or more game servers 105, 106 may be any computing device havingone or more processors and one or more computer-readable storage mediasuch as RAM, hard disk or any other optical or magnetic media. The oneor more game servers 105, 106 include a plurality of hardware, software,and/or firmware components operating together to provide or implement aplurality of functional, operational or service-oriented modules. Insome embodiments, the one or more game servers 105, 106 include or arein communication with a game database system (not shown).

In one embodiment, each game server is associated with a separate gamedatabase system. In another embodiment, a common database system mayserve two or more game servers. The game database system stores aplurality of game data associated with one or more games that are servedor provided to the client devices 110 over the network 115. In oneembodiment, the game database system comprises a plurality of databases,each storing a different type, format, or kind of data. In someembodiments, the one or more game servers 105, 106 may be implemented bya cloud of computing platforms operating together as game servers. Inembodiments, a game server is another home console, a personal computingdevice, such as a laptop or tablet PC, or a dedicated server.

In one embodiment, the gaming system 100 comprises a plurality ofdistributed video game servers, wherein each of the distributed videogame servers is configured to host and manage a video game title. Asdefined herein, the distributed game servers refer to a system ofcomputing platforms that are capable of communicating and coordinatingwith one another. In one embodiment, the computing platforms comprisingthe distributed servers are hosted on the cloud. For the purpose of thepresent specification, a video game title is defined as an electronicgame that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visualfeedback on a display device.

In accordance with aspects of the present specification, the one or moregame servers 105, 106 provide or implement a plurality of modules suchas, but not limited to, a selection module 120 and an editing module130. In one embodiment, the various modules are hosted on a cloud ofcomputing platforms, collectively known as the backend. In the followingdescription, the terms ‘game server’ and ‘backend’ are usedinterchangeably. In some embodiments, the one or more client devices 110are configured to implement or execute one or more of the plurality ofmodules that are the same as or similar to the modules of the one ormore game servers 105. For example, in some embodiments the clientdevices 110 execute a client-side selection module 120.

It should be appreciated that the term ‘module’ refers to computer logicutilized to provide a desired functionality, service or operation. Invarious embodiments, a module can be implemented in hardware, firmwareand/or software controlling a general purpose processor. In oneembodiment, the modules are programmatic codes or computer executableinstructions stored on a storage system, such as the game databasesystem, and executed by a processor.

In an embodiment, user input module 125 is configured to generate aplurality of interfaces designed to elicit and receive data from a userindicative of an amount of time available to play a video game andoptionally, additional preferences for further customization. Forexample, the interface 150 of user input module 125 may present (via adrop-down menu, for example) a fixed set of time periods, such as 30minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, or anyincrement therein, that is shorter than the full video game experienceassuming all content is experienced in a non-customized manner.Alternatively, the user interface may present a freeform input dialogbox capable of receiving any time period. The user input module 125 isconfigured to receive the data indicative of a user-defined time periodwithin which to play a game and store that data in one or more databasesand/or communicate that data directly to the selection module 120. Insome embodiments, user input module 125 may be configured to receive oneor more inputs that define game attributes/parameters that would enhancethe gameplay experience for the user. In an embodiment, a user may beprompted to select games designed for a predefined age group of players,using a game rating system for example, which can be input via userinput module 125. In another embodiment a user may be prompted to entera difficulty level of the games that the user would like to play, viathe user input module 125. In an embodiment, a user may input gameselection criteria, via user input module 125) such as but not limitedto, a game type (role-play based game, for example); a character type(for example, but not limited to such example, any character, onlywizards, or only knights); and/or a popularity level (for example, gamesthat are tagged as most popular based on a large number of userratings). In an embodiment, the user input module 125 may be configuredto prompt a user to further customize the game playing experience byspecifying attributes such as a storyline, one or more characters, typeof events that must occur during gameplay, number of opponents, andskill level of the opponents.

FIG. 1B is a wireframe diagram of an exemplary graphical user interface(GUI) for obtaining and generating user game preferences, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present specification. In various embodiments,display 150 is generated by the user input module 125 in order to obtainat least one user criterion or preference for designing a customizedgameplay experience for the user. Display 150 comprises an input box orarea 151 in which a user may input a time period or duration that theuser would like to play the game. In embodiments, the user may input thetime period as a number of hours or any increment therein. An input box152 is provided on the display 150 for inputting (by a user) andreceiving (by the system) a user's preference regarding a preferred userrating for a game that the user would like to play. In embodiments, theuser may be prompted to select a rating from provided options such as,but not limited to, ‘>1’, >2′ . . . 10, or the option ‘any’ if the userdoes not have any preference regarding the rating of the game. Inembodiments, the game rating corresponds to the popularity of the gamewith 1 being least popular and 10 being most popular. Display 150 alsocomprises input boxes 154, 156, 158, 160 and 162 for receiving theuser's preferences regarding the type of game; difficulty level of thegame; type of characters preferred in gameplay; number of opponents inthe gameplay; and a skill level of the opponents in gameplay,respectively.

In embodiments, a user may be prompted to select one of a plurality ofgame types such as, but not limited to action games, action-adventuregames, adventure games, role-playing games, simulation games, strategygames, sports games, and puzzle games, via the input box 154. Inembodiments, a user may be prompted to select one out of a predefinedrange of values, such as but not limited to values ranging from 1 to 5,to define a difficulty of game levels that the user would like to playvia the input box 156. In embodiments, a difficulty level of 1 isdesignated as easy, while a difficulty level of 5 is designated as themost challenging or difficult. In embodiments, a user may be prompted toselect one of a plurality of game characters such as, but not limited towizards, witches, ogres, aliens, king, queen, princess, and nerd, thatthe user would like in the gameplay, via the input box 158. In anembodiment, the input box 158 may allow a user to select multiplecharacters. In an embodiment, the input box 158 includes “any” as aselection option so that the universe of characters is open to theplayer.

In embodiments, a user may be prompted to select one out of a predefinedrange of values, such as values ranging from a minimum of 1 player to aninfinite number of players, or any increment therein, to define a numberof opponents that the user would like to play with via the input box160. Further, Input box 162 may, in an embodiment, provide a predefinedrange of values, ranging from ‘>1’ to ‘>5’, for example, or anyincrement therein, wherein each value defines a selectable skill levelof opponents for gameplay. For each of the inputs 152, 154, 156, 158,160, and 162, a user may select the option ‘any’ if the user does nothave any preference regarding the respective game attribute. Allowing auser to define various game attributes along with a time that the usercan play the game for enables refinement of the selection of portions ofgameplay based on the user's preferences, thereby further enhancing theuser's gameplay experience.

In alternate embodiments, an input box may be provided on the display150 for inputting (by a user) and receiving (by the system) a user'spreference regarding a preferred age rating for a game that the userwould like to play. In embodiments, the user may be prompted to select arating from provided options such as, standard ESRB ratings. Inembodiments, this may allow a user to filter out content that may not beacceptable for some audiences.

In embodiments, “n” number of input boxes may be provided to designateselection criteria or preferences. In embodiments, the inputs describedabove may be free-form. In alternate embodiments, user input module 125ma generate selection criteria and provide a drop-down menu.

In an embodiment, the selection module 120 receives a user-defined timeperiod either from the database or directly from the user input moduleand, based on that time period, selects portions of a video game thatcan be played in the user-defined time frame. In an embodiment,selection module 120 identifies content, which may be defined in termsof scenes, levels, or any discrete portion of the video game(collectively, content units), that, when combined into a structuredgameplay session, would fit into the player-defined time period. Theselection module 120 identifies content units by searching and/orscanning metadata associated with each content unit, determining anassociated play time period based on such metadata, and determining ifthat play time period, when combined with other play time periods ofother content, equals, is less than, or is greater than the user-definedtime frame. If the collective play time period is less than theuser-defined time frame, the selection module may identify additionalcontent units to extend the collective play time. If the collective playtime period is greater than the user-defined time frame, the selectionmodule may eliminate identified content units to shorten the collectiveplay time. If the collective play time period is equal to the userdefined time frame, the selection module may transmit the identifiedcontent units to the editing module 130.

Accordingly, the selection module 120 is configured to apply theplayer-defined time period as a filter to identify all the content thatwould fit (either unedited or in edited form as described below) intothe user-defined time frame. For example, if a player desires to play avideo game for 10 hours, the selection module 120 selects content unitsof the video game that, collectively, can be played within 10 hours.

It should be appreciated that each content unit may be stored in one ormore databases associated with the game servers 105, 106 and inassociation with metadata that defines a predefined time period requiredto play that content unit. Optionally, the predefined time period may bemanually defined by one or more players. Optionally, the predefined timeperiod may be determined by monitoring a time taken by a majority ofplayers to complete the content unit, calculating a function of suchtime (such as taking an average of all such time periods), and definingthat the predefined time period to be the calculated time period.

It should further be appreciated that each content unit may be stored inone or more databases in the system in association with metadata thatdefines a required relationship between content units. Accordingly, ifone content unit is selected, the metadata may indicate that one or moreother content units must also be selected, optionally in a particularorder, or, conversely, the metadata may indicate that another contentunit must not be selected.

It should further be appreciated that each content unit may be stored inone or more databases in the system in association with metadata thatdefines a plurality of descriptors which are indicative of differentuser tastes, interests, preferences, desires, likes or dislikes.Accordingly, where multiple combination of content units may satisfy theuser-defined time frame, the selection of content units having metadatadescriptors reflective of one or more tastes, interests, preferences,desires, or likes of the user may be prioritized for selection overother content units of similar length. Accordingly, content units may beselected based on user interest.

Each content unit may be further stored in one or more databases in thesystem in association with metadata that defines a plurality of otherdescriptors which are indicative of the subject matter of the contentunit itself. For example, content units may be rated, and have theirmetadata reflect, other criteria, such as but not limited to, the mostfun content, the most challenging experience, the scariest content, theeasiest gameplay experience, or the content other similar players likethe most. In embodiments, such content metadata may be determined bymeans of player votes or by recording how often players choose to engagewith or play that content unit. In various embodiments, the selectionmodule 120 may assign a prioritization/rating to each piece of contentwithin a game based on specific parameters such as but not limited to: arating obtained via average player vote, an editorial ranking providedby the game's designers and/or developers, specific types of contentthat the player has selected in the past (e.g. player really likes bossbattles), or an importance to the overall story or narrative of thegame.

Given the extent of different data which may be incorporated into themetadata, the content may be generally selected based on a plurality ofcriteria. In various embodiments, the selection module 120 selectscontent primarily based on the one or more user preferences obtained viathe user input module 125, such as but not limited to those illustratedin FIG. 1B.

In an embodiment, selection module 120 selects content that maintains anarrative of the game, such as content that is rated as providing thebest experience. In other embodiments, the content selected by selectedmodule is based on certain criteria regardless of maintaining cohesionin the game's narrative. In other embodiments, content that is rated onother criteria, such as but not limited to, the most fun content (scenesor levels of the game) or rated as providing the most challengingexperience, is selected by the selection module 120. In embodiments, thecontent rating may be obtained by means of player votes or may bedetermined by recording maximum player interest/play. In variousembodiments, content rating data may be obtained from one or moredatabases associated with the game servers 105, 106. In variousembodiments, the selection module 120 assigns a prioritization/rating toeach piece of content within a game based on specific parameters such asbut not limited to: rating obtained via average player vote, editorialranking provided by the game's creators, specific types of content thatthe player has selected in the past (e.g. player really likes bossbattles), or importance to the overall story/narrative of the game. Inan embodiment, a rating of each piece of content may be based on eitherplayer feedback or editorial feedback. In embodiments, player oreditorial feedback may be obtained through in-game interfaces designedfor receiving feedback. For example, after each level of gameplay aplayer may be prompted to rate the last completed level. In anotherembodiment, application interfaces specifically designed to enableplayers to provide feedback regarding video games or game levels may beused. In other embodiments, editorial ratings based on, for example,in-house video game developers or external game critics may be used torate each piece of video game content. In an embodiment, video gamedevelopers may also be prompted to tag predefined sections of the gamecontent based on how essential said section is to the plotline of thevideo game. For example, video game developers may be prompted to tagcertain portions of the game as ‘essential’ and certain other portionsas ‘non-essential’to an overall storyline of the game. These tags arethen used by the selection module 120 for assigning aprioritization/rating to each piece of the content.

Optionally and additionally, the selection module 120 determines theextent and nature of virtual gear required by a player to play thescenes of the identified content units and allocates such virtual gearto the player. In various embodiments, the required virtual gear isdetermined by obtaining, from the metadata stored in association witheach content unit, the preferred virtual gear required to play eachcontent unit. The preferred virtual gear may be determined by the game'sdesigners and/or developers or may be determined by monitoring theaverage amount and/or types of virtual gear used by other players.

In various embodiments, the selection module 120 identifies content thateither fits into the user-defined time frame or may be culled to fitinto the time frame. In embodiments, for video games comprisingprocedurally generated levels, an editing module 130 generates smallerlevels to fit within the user-defined time frame. In an embodiment, theediting module 130 generates smaller culled levels from multipleprocedurally generated levels to fit within the user-defined time frameand then stitches the smaller culled levels together. In otherembodiments, where one or more portions of game comprise content thatfit into the user defined time frame, said portions are selected andstitched together by the editing module 130 without modifying thecontent. For video games with procedurally generated levels, parameterssuch as, but not limited to numbers of enemies, level of the enemies,number of floors in the dungeon, number of mini-bosses, number of rooms,and/or number of dead ends may be modified (such as by increasing ordecreasing) by the editing module 130, in order to reduce the timeneeded to complete a level of the game.

In an embodiment, for video games comprising non-procedurally generatedgame levels, editing module 130 reduces the gameplay time needed for aspecific piece of content by providing a player with high level gear orgear specific to the weaknesses of the enemies found in that contentunit, by turning on full visibility on a game map or adding navigationalguidance for the player, by adding auto-save functionality to preventloss of time when the player loses a life in the game, or by any of theprocedural generation modifiers mentioned above if the editing module130 has access to the underlying object code of the video game.

In other embodiments, the editing module 130 stitches together selectedcontent units as they exist in unedited form to make the game fit intothe player defined time frame, rather than modifying the game content,in cases where one or more portions of a game comprise content that fitinto the user defined time frame. In an embodiment, the editing module130 also adds messages or bumpers before each content unit that explainsany narrative gaps or game play moves that a player should know beforelaunching into that game scene, as described below with respect to FIG.3 .

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a plurality of steps for a method ofproviding truncated video game content that fits within a player definedtime period, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentspecification. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , at step 202, using theuser input module 125, the player provides the system with a video gameselection. At step 204, using the user input module 125, the playerprovides the system with a time period for which the player would liketo play the video game. At step 206, using the user input module 125,the player selects a plurality of descriptors, identifiers, or othercriteria that, when used as filters and applied to the metadataassociated with the content units, enable a selection of content unitsthat may be aggregated into a player-defined permutation of the game.

In an embodiment, after receiving a player's selection of video game andbased on the player's input, at step 208, the selection module 120 ofthe system applies the player-defined filters to the game scenes andselects scenes/content based on a plurality of criteria.

As previously described, each content unit may be tagged using metadatatags wherein the metadata includes information that conveys differentaspects of the content unit. In some embodiments, the metadatainformation comprises, but is not limited to, a time taken to complete ascene in the content unit, and body gear required to complete a scene inthe content unit. In other embodiments, the metadata informationcomprises information defining an ‘experience’ associated with thecontent unit. For example, metadata tags may read ‘fun’, ‘challenging’,‘scary’ or ‘easy’. In an embodiment, the metadata information comprisesinformation defining the number of players required to play each of thecontent units. For example, a metadata tag may read as ‘2 players’ or‘single player’ defining that the respective content unit is required tobe played by two players or a single player respectively. In anotherembodiment, the metadata information comprises information defining a‘category’ or ‘type’ of the content unit. For example, metadata tags mayread ‘puzzle’, ‘battle’, ‘car-chase’, ‘action’, ‘adventure’ or‘fantasy’, describing the kind of gameplay involved in a respectivecontent unit.

The metadata tagging of each scene of video games may be performed by agame server and stored in a database coupled with the game server. Invarious embodiments, one or more scenes may be tagged as scenes thatmust be selected together and played linearly in order to maintain thegame's narrative. In embodiments, certain scenes are defined or taggedas scenes that must be included in every gameplay. In other embodiments,a pre-defined sequence of scenes may be selected, wherein the scenescorrespond to a predefined player rating. Such scenes may be tagged suchthat they are played only in the defined sequence within the time perioddefined by the player.

In an embodiment, the selection module 120 filters the selected contentto ensure that it will fit within the number of hours input by theplayer, either in unedited or edited form. Optionally, the scenes orgame content are curated by editing module 130 to reflect reduced levelsso that they fit within the player-specified time period. In anembodiment, the selected scenes are time-tagged by determining anaverage amount of time players require for completing each selectedscene so that the player-defined time period can be applied as a filterto identify all the content that would fit into said time period. Inembodiments, the average amount of time that players require forcompleting each selected scene may be pre-recorded and may be obtainedfrom a database coupled with the gaming system executing the presentmethod. In another embodiment, the average amount of time that playersrequire for completing each selected scene may be an editoriallyassigned amount of time, or the average amount of time it takes forplayers with a similar skillset as the player to complete said scenes ofgameplay.

In an embodiment, selection module 120 selects content that maintains anarrative of the game, such as content that is rated as providing thebest experience. In other embodiments, the content selected by selectedmodule is based on certain criteria regardless of maintaining cohesionin the game's narrative, such as but not limited to, the most funcontent (scenes or levels of the game) or rated as providing the mostchallenging experience, is selected by the selection module 120. Inembodiments, the content rating for the video game may be obtained bymeans of player votes or may be determined by recording maximum playerinterest/play. In embodiments, the content rating may be obtained bymeans of player votes or may be determined by recording maximum playerinterest/play. In some embodiments, said scene/content selection may beperformed based on a prioritization/rating of each piece of contentwithin the game based on specific parameters such as those describedabove (rating obtained via average player vote, editorial rankingprovided by the game's creators, specific types of content that theplayer has selected in the past (e.g. player really likes boss battles),or importance to the overall story/narrative of the game).

At step 210, in an embodiment, the editing module 130 aggregates theselected content for presentation to the player. In embodiments, theediting module aggregates the content units and stitches them togetherinto a structured gameplay order, such as linear gameplay experiencethat fits within the number of hours input by the player. Inembodiments, certain scenes tagged for a predefined sequential play arestitched in accordance with the defined order. In an embodiment, one ormore messages or bumpers are added before each selected scene thatexplains any narrative gaps or game play moves that the player shouldknow before launching into that scene.

FIG. 3A illustrates a screenshot of a message screen displayed to a userprior to commencement of an edited game scene, in accordance with anembodiment of the present specification. In an embodiment, the messageis displayed after the user completes an edited game scene and beforecommencement of a subsequent stitched or edited game scene. Screenshot300 comprises a message section 302 for displaying a message introducingto the player an upcoming scene and/or a game-story narrative that hasoccurred between the completed scene and the upcoming scene. The messagesection 302 also provides to the player any additional informationrequired to play the up-coming game scene. In FIG. 3 , an exemplarymessage 302 conveys to the player the following narrative: “[a]fter thedemise of the alien king a force of barbarians has taken over theplanet. It is now up to you to save the planet by annihilating thebarbarians. Hint: Only high energy laser blasters can kill a barbarian.”Screenshot 300 also comprises an optional section 304 for displaying animage indicative of the upcoming scene of the edited gameplay session.

FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a method for aggregating theselected content for presentation to the player, in accordance with anembodiment of the present specification. At step 350 selected contentunits are identified. In embodiments, as explained above, the contentunits are selected by the selection module 120 (shown in FIG. 1A) basedon at least one user preference collected via the user input module 125(shown in FIG. 1B) and the metadata tags stored with respect to eachcontent unit. At step 352, the selected content units are recompiled toobtain a video game comprising only the selected content units. In anembodiment, the selected content units are recompiled to obtain acoherent sequential narrative of gameplay. At step 354, the recompiledgame is distributed to the user that had requested for the selectedcontent. In another embodiment, where the game is streamed to the user,recompilation may not be required and each content unit may besequentially arranged and streamed one after the other to the user. Inyet another embodiment, a video game may be developed such thatdifferent versions of the gameplay are designed to fit a plurality ofdifferent time durations. In such a case, when a user requests to play agame for one of the plurality of said different durations, acorresponding version of gameplay is selected and conveyed to the userfrom a plurality of pre-built or pre-collated versions.

At step 212, gameplay gear corresponding to the edited gameplay scenesis made available to the player. In various embodiments, the requiredgame gear is determined by obtaining pre-recorded information regardingthe gear required to play each scene of the game by an average player.In an embodiment, the player is allowed to choose the extent or natureof the gear by providing a GUI based slider or drop-down menu that canbe pointed to options such as ‘minimum gear’, ‘average gear’, ‘wellgeared’, and ‘best possible gear at that point in the game’ before thecommencement of each scene. FIG. 4 illustrates a screenshot of a screenpresented to a user prompting the user to select gear, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present specification. As shown in FIG. 4 ,screenshot 400 comprises a slider frame 402 comprising sliders arrows406, which can be used by the player to select or toggle between gearlevels on scale 408, such as levels 1, 2, or 3. Screenshot 400 alsocomprises a section 410 which provides a guide to the scale 408 bydisplaying the definitions of the selection number. For example, 1 maybe used to denote minimum gear, 2 may be used to denote average gear,and 3 may be used to denote maximum gear. As would be apparent,screenshot 400 displays only one out of a plurality of ways in which agame user may be prompted to select an extent of gear for aiding theuser's gameplay. In embodiments, a different scale may be selected forthe extent of gear. In embodiments, individual pieces of gear may beselected. In embodiments, a drop-down menu may be employed. Inembodiments, a checkbox-type selection method may be employed.

In embodiments, during the gameplay of the edited scenes and atpredefined intervals, the system determines if the player is completingthe scenes within the time allocated to each scene. If the player istaking longer than the allocated time for any scene, the player ispresented with options such as: moving to the next scene or piece ofcontent, continuing to play the current scene, or causing the gamecontent to be re-designed or reallocated to fit into the remaining timeavailable with the player. In an embodiment, if the player chooses tocontinue to play the current piece of content, gameplay may eitherexceed the player-defined time period or may cease at the end of theplayer-defined time period in such a manner that the player may not beable to complete all selected and edited content. In another embodiment,the selected pieces of content may be recalculated or prioritizeddifferently based on the time remaining. For example, if the player hasplayed three hours of a five hour gameplay session, but is only 20%through the gameplay content that has been selected for the player, theplayer may choose an option of re-defining the gameplay content to fitin the remaining two hours.

At step 214, during the gameplay of the selected scenes, it isdetermined if the player wishes to extend the gameplay experience byextending the numbers of hours of gameplay. If it is determined that theplayer would like to extend the gameplay experience by extending thenumbers of hours of gameplay, additional gameplay scenes are selected,edited and presented to the player based upon the player's new input atstep 216. If the player does not wish to extent gameplay, at step 218,the player proceeds through the game through the earlier player-definedtime period.

In an embodiment, the method of the present specification may beextended to a plurality of video games, wherein scenes from multiplevideo games may be selected and edited to fit within a player definedtime period. In such embodiments, a plurality of compatible video gamesare identified and selected based on one or more metadata tags of thegames describing information such as, but not limited to a ‘genre’,‘type’, ‘rating’ or ‘difficulty level’ of the games. In embodiments,content units may be selected from video games of a similar genre. Inanother embodiment, the content units may be selected from video gamesfalling under different genres. For example, a player may provide apreference for boss battle-based games and a defined number of hoursavailable for gameplay. In an embodiment, the system of the presentspecification may select boss battle based scenes from a plurality ofvideo games and edit the selected content units to fit into the playerdefined time period. In embodiments, the selection of the games formaking said scene selection may be made based on a plurality of criteriasuch as but not limited to the player's game playing history, ratingsgiven by the player to games played in the past, ratings given by otherplayers, and editorial selection. In some embodiments, content units maybe tagged using universal metadata tags wherein the metadata comprisesinformation conveying a plurality of aspects of the content units acrossmultiple games and genres of games. In embodiments, metadata tags ofcontent unit selected from different video games comprise informationsuch as, but not limited to, age/content rating, difficulty, year ofrelease, and language used for narrating the game-story.

In various embodiments, the cloud-based system architecture as describedwith reference to FIG. 1 enables seamless switching between games,thereby allowing players cross-game play sessions edited to fit within adesired time period.

In an embodiment, the systems and methods of the present specificationmay be used to provide a time-based play where multiple players maycompete for completing a set of selected scenes based on a populargenre. In the time-trial challenge embodiment, a first player may selectcertain content, such as a set of boss battles, and challenge second oradditional players to determine who can complete them the fastest. Forexample, video games based on racing allow users to compete against eachother in time trials. In an embodiment, a user may select suchtime-trial based asynchronous challenges where players complete theirruns while playing individually, and the results of each competingplayer is collected and sorted by the gaming system of the presentspecification. In another embodiment, a user may select to playtime-trial based synchronous challenges where all the competing playersplay together, competing with each other to reach a finish line, andwherein the results of each player are determined by the gaming system.

In embodiments, players may choose to create entire leagues based oncurated content gameplay. In such embodiments, challenges may becompiled and time scores may be tracked to determine rankings within thegroup or league. In embodiments, an e-sport athlete or social gaminginfluencers favorite content or top picks may be stitched together toform various time-based gameplay sessions, providing the player with“premium” or “VIP” content. In embodiments, these curated gameplaysessions may be 5, 10, 15, 20 hours or more or any increment therein.

The above examples are merely illustrative of the many applications ofthe system and method of present specification. Although only a fewembodiments of the present specification have been described herein, itshould be understood that the present specification might be embodied inmany other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe specification. Therefore, the present examples and embodiments areto be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and thespecification may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for providing a tailored video game, wherein thetailored video game is a modified version of a video game having astandard gameplay time greater than a gameplay time of the tailoredvideo game, the method comprising: receiving data indicative of thegameplay time of the tailored video game; selecting a portion of thevideo game based on the data indicative of the gameplay time of thetailored video game, wherein the portion has a time period associatedtherewith; editing the portion such that the portion's time period isequal to or less than the gameplay time of the tailored video game;generating the tailored video game comprising the edited portion;determining that the player is completing the portion within the editedportion's time period; and providing one or more options based upon saiddetermination.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing one or moreoptions is not performed in the event that the player is not completingthe portion within the gameplay time of the tailored video game.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising selecting one or more game gearitems required for playing the portion based on at least one of aplurality of pre-defined criteria.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinediting the portion such that the portion's time period is equal to orless than the gameplay time of the tailored video game is achieved byproviding the player with at least one of improved gear items or gearspecific to weaknesses of opponents in the portion.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein editing the portion such that the portion's time periodis equal to or less than the gameplay time of the tailored video game isachieved by increasing visibility on a game map of the portion.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein editing the portion such that the portion'stime period is equal to or less than the gameplay time of the tailoredvideo game is achieved by increasing navigational guidance for theplayer.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion comprises aplurality of content units from the video game that are stitchedtogether to form said portion.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein editingthe portion such that the portion's time period is equal to or less thanthe gameplay time of the tailored video game is achieved by modifying atleast one of a number of enemies, a level of the enemies, a number offloors, a number of mini-bosses, a number of rooms, or a number of deadends.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the portion furthercomprises determining an amount of time required for completing theportion and applying data indicative of the gameplay time of thetailored video game as a filter to identify all of the portions having atime period that is less than or equal to the gameplay time of thetailored video game.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprisingediting the portion to provide a linear gameplay experience to theplayer.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding one or moremessages before the portion to provide a narrative corresponding to thetailored gameplay session.
 12. A system for generating, in real-time, atailored video game, wherein the tailored video game is a modifiedversion of a video game having a standard gameplay time greater than agameplay time of the tailored video game, the system comprising one ormore game servers for hosting the game and a plurality of clientprocessors for executing an instance of the game communicated by the oneor more game servers via a network coupling the client processors to thegame servers, said game servers comprising one or more processorsconfigured to execute a plurality of executable programmaticinstructions to generate, in real-time, the tailored video game, theprogrammatic instructions forming: a user input module which whenexecuted receives data indicative of the gameplay time of the tailoredvideo game; a selection module which when executed selects a portion ofthe video game based on the data indicative of the gameplay time of thetailored video game, wherein the portion has a time period associatedtherewith; and an editing module which when executed edits the portionsuch that the portion's time period is equal to or less than thegameplay time of the tailored video game for generating a tailoredgameplay session comprising the edited portion; wherein the selectionmodule is configured to determine that a player is completing theportion within the edited portion's time period and provide one or moreoptions based on said determination.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinthe selection module is configured to not provide one or more options inthe event that the player is not completing the portion within thegameplay time of the tailored video game.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the selection module is configured to select one or more gamegear items required for playing the portion based on at least one of aplurality of pre-defined criteria.
 15. The system of claim 12, whereinthe editing module is configured to edit the portion such that theportion's time period is equal to or less than the gameplay time of thetailored video game by providing the player with at least one ofimproved gear items or gear specific to weaknesses of opponents in theportion.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein the editing module isconfigured to edit the portion such that the portion's time period isequal to or less than the gameplay time of the tailored video game byincreasing visibility on a game map of the portion.
 17. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the editing module is configured to edit the portionsuch that the portion's time period is equal to or less than thegameplay time of the tailored video game by increasing navigationalguidance for the player.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein the portioncomprises a plurality of content units from the video game that arestitched together to form said portion.
 19. The system of claim 12,wherein the editing module is configured to edit the portion such thatthe portion's time period is equal to or less than the gameplay time ofthe tailored video game by modifying at least one of a number ofenemies, a level of the enemies, a number of floors, a number ofmini-bosses, a number of rooms, or a number of dead ends.
 20. The systemof claim 12, wherein the selection module is configured to determine anamount of time required for completing the portion and applying dataindicative of the gameplay time of the tailored video game as a filterto identify all of the portions having a time period that is less thanor equal to the gameplay time of the tailored video game.